Staff shattered and demoralised

The statement that Kidderminster Hospital had become "unsafe" was totally precipitated by the authority's declared intention to close down the acute services at Kidderminster.

Is there any surprise that there was a mass exodus of highly skilled nursing, medical and other paramedical staff from the hospital?

Just before this declaration the hospital had a visitation and assessment by the Royal College of Surgeons who had awarded the hospital full accreditation for five years.

Not only this, but the hospital had received the gold standard Charter Mark for excellence of service and all employees received a badge in recognition of their standard of care.

Many of our skilled staff, who had to transfer to other hospitals, now feel shattered and demoralised faced with lowered standards of care than they had become used to at Kidderminster and are afraid to speak out in this undoubted atmosphere of intimidation from the health authority. Some have found the lowered standards unacceptable and have left the acute sector.

The medical profession were presented with a "fait accompli" and felt they had no alternative but to work within the system.

When the Kings Fund visited the hospital to produce a report, it did not recommend closure of the acute unit but emphasised the difficulties of continuing with it.

These were picked on by the health authority, giving them the excuse to force through the changes in order to save money for the new PFI hospital at Worcester.

The catalogue of disastrous events now occurring in the acute sector were wholly predictable.

There is an undoubted depth of feeling in the Kidderminster area about these changes and it will not go away.

The area health authority and the politicians must be held to account.

GH EELES

Consultant pathologist (retired)

Fairfield Lane, Wolverley